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‘Love Island’ Is Coming to the U.S.: The Host Is Confirmed!!!

Love Island US CBS
Everything You Need to Know About ‘Love Island’CBS

’Ello, loves! No, I am not British, but you know what is? The international sensation, the one, the only, the iconic Love Island. It has everything: hot guys, beautiful women, drama, swimsuits, and loads of adorable British lingo. It’s like Bachelor in Paradise but, like, so much better. And guess what? It’s crossing the pond and coming to America!

Now, if you haven’t seen Love Island already, you might be wondering what this show is all about. Well, let me explain.

We have the Brits to thank for it

Yes, it’s true: Love Island is an English export—one of its best, IMO. It started airing on ITV2 in June 2015, and since then, it’s basically taken over Europe. When the finale of the fourth season aired last summer, it became the network’s most-watched program ever. Yeah, young Brits are literally obsessed with this show. And BTW, just because you’re in America doesn’t mean you can’t watch the OG Love Island. It’s available to stream on Hulu, so go binge it immediately.

STREAM LOVE ISLAND.

It’s like Tinder but IRL

So, people are clearly in love with Love Island, but, like...what’s it all about? Well, basically, a group of men and women show up to a tropical island. There’s the “first coupling” at the beginning, which pretty much feels like watching people use Tinder but in real life. A person walks out and any of the contestants can choose them by stepping forward. But the catch is, said person doesn’t have to choose them back—they can choose whichever contestant they want. Here’s a clip of one of the previous coupling ceremonies:

Once everyone is partnered up, the main goal is to stay that way. The contestants can switch partners if they start to vibe with someone else, but whoever ends up without a partner gets kicked off the island. The show is also known to throw in extra contestants just for ~funsies~. Whichever couple survives and makes it to the end wins a cash prize (and a new boo).

You can help control their ~destiny~

If you’re reading this, that probably means you weren’t chosen to be one of the cast members for the upcoming season of Love Island. But not to worry—you can still participate in the show. The UK version of Love Island lets the audience help choose who gets eliminated and who wins by having viewers vote via an app, and the U.S. version will follow a similar format.

The U.S. version will stick closely to the OG show

According to an Entertainment Weekly interview with exec producer David Eilenberg, the U.S. version of Love Island will still have plenty of what makes the original turn heads. “CBS very much supports the show that’s been a hit elsewhere,” the ITV America CCO explained. “We want to make sure the show is the show. It’s an aspirational, hot, fun summer show. And the UK show has become less provocative and more broad appeal over time.”

However, that’s not to say the U.S. version will be doing all the bits that its UK counterpart did. Eilenberg added, “We have to conform to broadcast standards, so what happens with language and—to some extent—what we see visually will be a little different because of the platform we’re on.” This will probably mean no basically naked thongs, sailor swearing, or sex-position games. BRB, need to go cry away my disappointment.

Also, as jetting over to the Mediterranean doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, the U.S. version will be filmed in Fiji.

The host is *drumroll* Arielle Vandenberg!

It’s official: The American Caroline Flack will be comedian Arielle Vandenberg. You may recognize her from episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Bones or from the days when Vine was still a thing (RIP). According to People, Arielle is a huge fan of the British version and said, “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be hosting Love Island this summer. I’m here for it all…the love, the relationships, the re-coupling…bring it on. I feel so honored to be at the head of the table watching it all go down!” It’s getting real, people!!!

It’s going to take over your summer

I hope you haven’t made any summer plans, because Love Island is about to consume your entire life. The U.S. version will start airing on CBS July 9 and will run through August 7. And guess what? There’s going to be a new episode Every. Single. Day. Yep, I wasn’t kidding about clearing your schedule! The show will air at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays and each episode will be an hour long. So strap in, ’cause it’s going to be a wild ride.

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ITV

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